


Two Broken Souls

by JacquelineSparrow



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-22
Updated: 2013-10-22
Packaged: 2017-12-30 04:02:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1013862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacquelineSparrow/pseuds/JacquelineSparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Falling through the Bifrost was really a traumatizing thing for Loki to go through, so he decided to go the only mortal man who had ever made him feel… safe and loved. Tony Stark. FrostIron fluff and feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Two Broken Souls

_Falling through the Bifrost was really a traumatizing thing for Loki to go through, so he decided to go the only mortal man who had ever made him feel… safe and loved. Tony Stark._

The thing that no one knew, the most treasured and protected secret was that Loki knew Stark from way before the Avengers initiative. From before Thor’s banishment even. The famous Iron Man had caught Loki’s attention on several occasions, so he of course decided to go to Midgard and investigate, find out who that mortal was, posing as a god of metal. He had found him, followed him, sneaked into his, well, tower, and while maintaining invisibility, watched him do various things. Mostly, just tinker around in his lab and get black-out wasted. But his attitude was what attracted him more. Such a dominant, self-destructive façade, but on the inside, he, much like Loki himself, was just hurt and vulnerable. Hurt, because everyone was keeping secrets from him and doing things behind his back, and the constant denial of his vulnerability is what made him even more vulnerable. A lost soul and a brilliant mind, hidden in a body on the edge of just seizing to function. Seeking comfort, but failing to find it. Loki also needed comfort, craved it, as if it were more precious than life itself. Desperate to get to know this mortal creature, one day he decided to just show himself to Stark, and let things take whatever course they may.

As it turned out, the two of them had a lot in common, and oddly enough, they balanced each other out quite perfectly. At the beginning, there was a little problem with who would dominate, but in the end, they decided that they both would dominate, one time it would be Stark, the other it would be Loki. They were glad they made that decision as it gave them a chance to explore their softer sides, which, don’t be fooled, did exist, buried under all the pressure of other people’s expectations and one’s own glorious purpose in life. Things were going fine for them, as Loki was just what Stark needed, and Stark was exactly what Loki needed. Their relationship was built on many levels and layers, not just physical, but emotional. They had moments when they would just want to fuck each other into oblivion, and they did it roughly and relentlessly, but there were times when just cuddling, or holding hands, or merely being close to each other was enough. With them, it was more than physical, so much more. They understood each other’s pain. They were made for each other.

But then, the whole charade with Thor happened, and Loki had to take his place on the throne of Asgard, and he couldn’t visit his mortal lover anymore. The burden of the crown was heavy, especially when that crown was never meant for him. He was hurting more than ever, and the only one who could console him was in another realm, and Loki couldn’t visit him. He knew, it would compromise Stark’s safety, and that was the last thing Loki wanted for the one person who loved him back. And then after Thor returned, changed by that mortal woman, Loki felt his heart break to a million tiny pieces. In a few days, a mere mortal had achieved with his brother what he had been trying to do in years, but he failed. He failed, as a brother, as a son and as a king. And in the moment the Allfather said “No, Loki.” he knew that his life as an Asgardian prince had to end. He might come back one day and conquer it, he thought, but all he needed now was to be what little was left of himself. He needed to be able to be weak and vulnerable. And the only way he knew to do that, was to go back to Stark. He shed a single tear, for his brother, and let go of the spear. 

So he ended up in downtown Manhattan, at Stark’s tower, and waited for JARVIS to alert the billionaire playboy that he had a guest. Stark wasn’t ready for guests, but when with the corner of his eye he saw the monitor of the security camera, black and green and gold, and red, he knew, and he immediately rushed to open the door, welcoming his guest, ignoring the fact that he had left his lab without putting a shirt on first. Bruised and bleeding, Loki leaned on the doorframe with one arm, and with the other he reached out to stroke his lover’s cheek, trying to calm him down a bit.

“Tony…” he said softly, calling him by his first name for the first time, letting his voice crack and show how weak he was.

“Loki…” Tony pulled the god into a strong, crushing hug, that would’ve been painful, if Loki could still feel physical pain at that moment. A tear rolled down Tony’s cheek, but he wiped it before Loki could see it, and instead lead him inside, ordering one of the robots to bring cotton, bandages and hydrogen peroxide.

*

They lived together for a while, until one day Loki disappeared without as much as a farewell, only to reappear again as a villain who wanted to rule Midgard. That’s when shit went to Hell, and Tony knew there was something off about Loki and his appearance, his eyes for one, were more blue than usual, and the god acted as if he had never seen Tony or Iron Man before. Feeling hurt and betrayed, Tony refused to deal with Loki any longer, and after the whole shenanigan was over with, he let Thor put chains and a muzzle on the god of mischief and lies, _The god of mischief and lies!_ Tony reminded himself, and let him be taken to Asgard to face trial and punishment there. 

He said he didn’t give a damn about what happened to the god, they might as well rip him to pieces for all he cared, but the truth was that he was the one being ripped to pieces, his heart reduced to a pile of ash in his chest, threatening to further poison his body. So he poured alcohol on the pile of ash and forgot of it’s existence, slowly drinking the pain away, the alcohol erasing every memory, every touch, every kiss… leaving him emptier than ever before, but soon he couldn’t even remember how happy he had felt while with Loki. At least, that’s what he always told himself while gulping down the whiskey straight from the bottle, and passing out, only to surrender to alcohol-induced hallucinations of him being with Loki again, and that’s all they were, hallucinations caused by heavy drinking. Or were they? It was too surreal for him to tell the difference, so he finally gave up, and continued drinking himself into oblivion, just to fall into the sweet abyss of hallucinations over and over again, forgetting about his pain, even if for a little while…


	2. Time Passed

Time passed, the pain faded, and soon Tony’s life was back to normal, just the way it was before he met Loki. He did everything in his power to erase the god from his mind and keep on going like he never existed. Life was back to normal, same old boring routine every day. Until one particular day. The sky went black, the clouds swirled as if a tornado was forming, there were thunder and lightning, hitting and falling very near Avengers tower, promising nothing but trouble and mischief. Then a lightning bolt hit the tower, the top of it, the ‘landing deck’ Tony had designed for his suits. It wasn’t just a regular lightning bolt, something hit the tower, and fell down ten floors, going through the building, leaving an almost post-apocalyptic hole after it. It was a good thing the other Avengers weren’t there at the time, so Tony went to investigate by himself. Down the hole, where the thing had fallen, a black pile of something very beaten up and bloody, and shivering, was waiting to be found.

*

“Father, you do not understand! I was under his control! It was not my doing, I had no choice but to do it. I could not control my own body.” Loki said to Odin, after having explained his situation for the thousandth time, but the Allfather still wouldn’t listen.

“That’s enough.” His voice came threateningly calm. “You have betrayed the express command of your king. Through your arrogance and stupidity you’ve opened these peaceful realms and innocent lives to the horror and desolation of war. You are unworthy of this realm, you are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed. You are unworthy of your title as prince of Asgard, and unworthy of the name Odinson. I take away your powers and send you to Midgard for your banishment… Loki Laufeyson.” The Allfather hit the ground with Gungnir, his mighty spear, and the room shook.

Things happened fast, blindingly fast. Loki’s armor was stripped away from him by an invisible force, leaving him in plain black leather clothes, his powers leaving his body, leaving him near mortal. But what the Allfather seemed to miss, was that Loki’s powers didn’t come from any object, and they were not given to him by Odin, so he couldn’t completely take them away.

Using what little was left of his powers to cast a spell that would send him flying down to the house of his friend, his lover, the only person he could trust… he crashed in Avengers tower, going ten stories down the building through floors and walls, ending up a bloody pile of black, shivering on the floor, barely conscious.

The last thing he remembered was Tony’s face right above his own, shock and terror and pain written all over it.

*

During the next week, Loki would fall in and out of consciousness, never managing to stay awake for more than ten minutes at a time, and even then he wasn’t fully aware of what was happening around him, and to him. It was a great shock for Tony to find his former lover in such a bloody, beaten up condition, again, and after the initial anger that Loki’s sudden reappearance awoke, the billionaire decided to take care of the fallen god once more. Who knew? He might be back to normal now, at least he didn’t look as evil as last time. Slowly nursing him back to health, Tony somehow forgot all the pain and suffering Loki had caused him, though he still tried to find the reason that made the god of mischief act that way. For one thing, Loki had changed after the smack-down he had with the Hulk, his eyes turned to their usual jade colour, and the looks he was giving Tony were full of pain, begging for forgiveness, trying to say so much, without using a single word. But Tony hadn’t looked at him then. He would always look away when he felt the god’s eyes upon him, the feeling giving him the chills, and not the good kind. But now all that was behind them, and they had to turn the page. You can’t live in the past, someone had once said, and Tony decided to follow that advice.

When Loki’s condition was finally stable, and he could stay awake for more than ten minutes, he was thoroughly interrogated by S.H.I.E.L.D. to make sure this wasn’t another clever plan of his, but everything checked out, and without much of his powers left, Loki was now considered safe, and they even asked him to join them, as an ally, to which he only responded that he’ll consider the offer, nothing more.

Tony wouldn’t mention their previous relationship, and Loki refrained from doing it either, but one night he just couldn’t stand it anymore and teleported in Stark’s bedroom in his pj’s (that consisted of a pair of old loose sweatpants, nothing more), and was determined to set things straight. Tony woke up with a slight jump when he felt Loki’s cold body pressed against his own. The first few hours of the night were spent talking, explaining, forgiving. The rest of the night was filled with more pleasant activities that left them breathless and dehydrated. He was thinking about getting his own place, maybe even a job, but now that him and Tony were back together, that was out of the question. The only downside was that now he really had to consider the offer of joining the team.

Dealing with his brother also proved to be more difficult than he had thought, since the god of thunder was constantly following Loki and begging him to join them, claiming that it would be ‘great fun defending the world together, as brothers’, and then of course also celebrating and drinking as brothers. Loki kept refusing, but one night Thor got the best of him, and managed to get them both drunk. One gut-wrenchingly honest conversation, and a few drinks later, Loki finally agreed to join the Avengers and fight on the side of the good guys.


	3. I don't mind that you're broken, because I'm broken too

Loki had been following the movements of the metal man for quite some time now, and he was curious to find out more about the man behind the metal, what drives him, what and who does he love, what made him tick…

After having followed him throughout the entire day, and seen a lot of not so important things, Loki decided to follow the man into his home, Stark tower, for purely investigational purposes of course. Maintaining his invisibility, he followed Stark closely, though all the man did was tinker around different robots in his lab. Reading his mind, Loki sensed that the genius was in inner turmoil, and that it had lasted for years, and probably wouldn’t end any time soon. He sensed the man had a lot of daddy issues, they at least had one thing in common. Only one thing, far from enough, and Loki was near to giving up on the mortal man, but then the man in question decided to go to his library. A remarkable room, Loki had to admit. And the word room was actually a giant understatement. The library was a huge space, four or five stories high, with the latest midgardian technology to help you get to the book you wanted. And that man probably had every single book ever written on Midgard. And all different genres too. Romance, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, science, mythology, theology, everything you could imagine. That was another thing they had in common, and more than enough to really spark Loki’s interest again. He decided that he must get to know the man, and maybe even become friends with him if possible. So when Stark retreated to his bedroom, Loki teleported there, and showed himself to the now half-naked man, immediately spotting the glowing circle on his chest, a feature, he knew, not found in mortals.

“You are indeed fascinating for a mortal.” Loki said and walked slowly towards Stark, while curiously studying the contraption in his chest.

“Who the fuck are you and how did you get in my room?” Tony said, angrily. “JARVIS, what’s going on?” he called, but no answer came.

“I’m afraid you’ll find your disembodied servant is a little… indisposed right now.”

“What have you done to him?”

“Nothing irreversible, you need not worry. I am merely curious about you, metal man. Tony Stark.”

“Who are you anyway?” Tony said annoyed, thinking it was just a crazy fan.

“I am Loki.”

“Oh, like the Norse god of mischief and lies, huh?”

“The same.” Tony remained quiet for a while, trying to put two and two together, but somehow failing to, his face betraying his confusion. “For such a brilliant man, you have a lot of trouble comprehending the truth, mister Stark. I _am_ the god of mischief and lies.” Loki was now dangerously close, towering above Stark, as jade eyes studied brown ones, never breaking contact.

“So what do you want with me, oh great god of lies?” Tony said half-mockingly, a part of him still refusing to believe the man in front of him was indeed a god. A hallucination, maybe, but not a god.

“Merely to study you, nothing more.”

“So, you’re gonna dissect me, is that it?”

“It is an entirely different kind of study I speak of, mortal.”

Neither of them remembered much of what happened after that line was said. A certain genius billionaire playboy philanthropist might have kissed a certain god of mischief and lies, and a certain god might have kissed back. They didn’t remember undressing themselves either, but somehow they ended up crashing on the bed, both naked, hands and lips hungrily exploring every inch of skin. Everything was a blur after that. A hot, messy, sweaty blur. So unrealistic, Tony thought it was a dream, he was sure the god would have disappeared by the time he woke up, but no, the tall man was still there, strangely peaceful in his sleep, curved in a ball, like a cat. _I fucked a god last night…_ was all Tony could think. _And he liked it. And I liked it too…_ it was weird merely thinking it, let alone saying it out loud, and he still couldn’t believe it. He thought maybe it was just another alcohol induced hallucination that would disappear as soon as he woke up properly. Clinging to his hallucination theory, Tony got up and went to the kitchen, where he drank the whole coffee pot, and was certain that the god was only a hallucination, so he turned around to go to his lab, still a mug with coffee in his hand, and he saw him, dropping the mug to the floor. Loki waved his fingers, and the mug was whole again, sitting on the counter.

“I gave you what you wanted. Now you must give me what I want.” Loki said with the commanding voice of a god, and a prince, and Tony had no choice but to obey.

They spent the whole day in the lab, Tony explaining to Loki all of his technological creations, revealing to him their inside workings, while sharing some facts from his personal life in between. He explained to him about the contraption in his chest, an arc reactor he called it, and what it’s purpose was. A truly fascinating creature Tony was, and Loki had to admit it. Day blurred with night, and night with day, and so, many nights and days passed that the two men spent together, getting ever closer to each other, getting to know each other for the emotional wrecks they really were. And, really, Loki didn’t mind that Stark was broken, because he was broken too. Two broken souls, finding peace with each other, finally learning how to love, finally feeling what it was like to be loved. They were perfect for each other, always together, never separating, for the fear of one losing the other was too much to think of, though it was a very plausible and probable fear, as they both had dangerous lives. One as a superhero, the other as a god and prince.

One time, they swore to each other that they would never separate, never break up, that they would be together until the end of time, which, let’s face it, wasn’t exactly possible with Tony being a mortal and all, but they both ignored that when they said ‘ _I swear’_ and intertwined their pinkies. A pinky swear. So childishly naïve, but holding so much power. But then, one day Loki disappeared, and came back as the villain, having forgotten every minute spent in Tony’s arms. The pinky swear was broken, and so was Tony’s heart.


	4. Happy Ever After

“You have to hear me out.” He pleaded, the words and the tone so strange and unbecoming of a god, if he could still be called that. The unspoken words hanging in his jade eyes begged for a chance, for understanding, begged to regain the love he had lost. The mortal was still confused of his former lover’s sudden appearance in his bedroom, trying to react somehow, then opting not to. “Please.”

“Fine. You have ten minutes.” Stark had said coldly, sitting on the bed, hand going through his hair, as if it would help wake him up. “I suggest you start explaining now, before your time is up.” He urged, coldly, trying to focus his gaze on Loki’s eyes, instead of his bare chest.

So he started to explain, slowly, and in details, everything that had happened to him after he’d disappeared from Stark Tower that day. He tried to keep his emotions under control, and managed to, for the first thirty minutes. Yes, thirty minutes. Did you really think Tony would just throw him out of his room when the ten minutes were up? Loki’s emotions got the best of him, and he fell to his knees on the floor, in front of Tony, trying hard not to start sobbing, and instead kept explaining everything, until he got to the part of his banishment. He repeated the words Odin had said to him, and after that his voice failed, and he just stood there, silent, and a little numb from having to relive everything. His eyes were looking at Tony, but seeing through him, he wasn’t in this world, he was somewhere else. Then, he felt two strong arms wrap around him, bringing him close to Tony’s warm body, as he held him tight, trying to protect him from things that no longer existed. That’s when Loki broke and the sobs he had suppressed for so long escaped him, causing his body to shake and shiver, as he was trying to erase everything from his mind, to no avail. The two men stood there, kneeling on the floor, Loki wrapped in Tony’s arms, for an hour, maybe two. That’s how long it took Loki to calm down. Tony dragged him to the bed and laid him there, assuming his position next to Loki, dragging the covers over them, Loki cuddled close to him, as Tony whispered in the lie smith’s ear that he was safe now and nothing would ever hurt him again. He gently pressed his lips to Loki’s forehead, in that special way you do only with the people that are dearest to you, the people you would give your life to protect. Somehow, their lips met in the dark, in the most tender of kisses either of them had experienced, and they relished the feeling, wanting to make it last forever. In the end, their bodies got the best of them, and soon clothes were discarded and scattered on the floor. That night, for the first time in their lives, they made love. Sweet and tender, yet passionate love.

When they woke up in the morning, both feeling unusually happy and relieved, they decided that they had to go public about their relationship. At least in front of the Avengers, they had the right to know. Realizing it would be like doing jumping jacks on thin ice, they decided to slowly prepare the others first, and then when the time was right, to announce it. And since it was mostly Tony’s idea, he was given the task of telling the good news to the other Avengers, while Loki took Thor out to have a couple of drinks and carefully explain to him the situation with him and Tony being together-together.

Things did not go as planned. Tony locked himself in his lab, because Clint and Natasha legitimately tried to kill him, after he proudly announced his relationship with Loki (“I’ve boned a god. And I plan to keep boning that same god, and no one else, until my last breath.”), which, although romantic in its special way, didn’t have the effect Tony thought it would. And Loki wasn’t doing any better, either. Thor had gotten drunk surprisingly quickly, and ended up sobbing on his brother’s shoulder, complaining how boring Asgard is without his mischief, only to smash his glass in the floor like a jolly giant when Loki told him about his relationship with Tony, definitely in a more subtle and acceptable way than Tony’s. After ten minutes of nonsensical word-vomit from Thor, Loki was beginning to regret his decision severely, and then his brother, with tears in his eyes, asked him, for the thousandth time, to join the Avengers and fight for good. Honestly, Loki had a major soft-spot for his brother’s puppy-dog eyes, and it would always kill him inside when he had to refuse. This time, though, there was nothing at stake, nothing to lose, nothing that would justify his refusal, so he ended up agreeing to it before he could stop himself from saying the words.

At the beginning, he wondered if he should regret his decision or not, fighting with the good guys instead of against them felt a little odd at first. But very soon Tony was able to convince him that it not only was worth its while, but it also came with certain benefits, that only couples got to experience.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it. It's over. The torture is over. I apologize for the clusterfuck of timelines, for any emotional pain and damage I might have caused. I apologize for the ending being so... meh. Anyway, I hope you liked it. And thank you for reading.


End file.
